Melodeon.net Forums
Discussions => Instrument Makes and Models => Topic started by: pgroff on July 26, 2012, 09:39:18 PM
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Hi all,
Here's a very interesting accordion, marked on the reedblocks "Guido Ploner, Trieste." Unfortunately it seems to have spent some time in a very dry climate and may not be economical to restore.
It has a 25 button (13 + 12) melody keyboard with two buttons of accidentals at the start of each row. The box is in some kind of F/Bb layout -- the 8 basses are what you would expect for those keys. However, the melody-side voicing (3-voice, MMM) is unusually high with the F row pitched a quarter tone above the F row of a modern C/F pokerwork, and the Bb row a fourth above that. Then, there are some reversed reedplates on the inside Bb row and a few other minor surprises. Finally, the button for the Bb bass notes also rings a bell that's in the bass-side action case.
Does anyone recognize this type of instrument or know its musical tradition?
PG
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Hi all,
Returning to this thread to add a little more information and updated photo.
In the photo posted below are two unrestored Ploners. On left, an Angelo Ploner 3-row, MM, in C/F/Bb and on the right a Guido Ploner, MMM, in F/Bb. Very interesting instruments with simple, unpierced metal pallet covering and with springs mounted externally on the soundboard, operating downward on the pallets.
This chronology lists Lorenzo Ploner (in Trieste) among the earliest accordion makers in Italy (from 1862), evidently followed by Angelo, Giuseppe, Guido (Antonio?):
http://www.accordions.com/articles/chronology.aspx
This article includes (at the end) a discussion of "Triestinka" diatonic accordions made by the Ploner family and used in the musical traditions of Istria:
http://www.smrikve.com/istria/books/smrikve/istrian-music/istrian-traditional-istruments/
This page illustrates a so-called "Steirische" accordion that seems to be built like the Ploners:
http://www.accordeonparfait.com/accordeons-diato-collection.html
Scrolling down this page, a photo of Nina Volk using a restored 2 row box very similar to the Angelo Ploner shown below:
http://www.celinka.si/novice/sozvocja/sozvocja-slovenije-volk-folk-13-02-2011-ljubljana/
I'd still be interested if anyone can tell me more about these instruments.
Thanks!
PG
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Can't tell you much more about these instruments, I'm afraid. But I found this one on the Croatian site www.njuskalo.hr.
Robert
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Hi Robert,
Many thanks for posting those! I think I came across that same instrument offered for sale in one of my searches, but had lost track of it. It was listed as "restored" and may in fact have been somewhat "updated" cosmetically in the process.
Another interesting instrument that might be relevant is this Paolo Soprani "Triestina" model. Unlike most of the stepped-keyboard Paolo Sopranis of that period that are seen in the US, this one has very long button rows like the Ploners that I illustrated -- so perhaps this has a similar layout:
http://www.njuskalo.hr/harmonike/harmonika-paolo-soprani-modello-triestina-ii-oglas-10522692
PG
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Another Ploner, but very different. It is in the Italian booklet "Le Fisarmoniche". This instrument is said to be made in Sondrio, which is in the Italian Alps some 475 kms WNW of Trieste. Which could mean that there were more melodeon factories by the name of Ploner (I don't know how common the name Ploner is (or was) in Northern Italy). But..... there are a lot of mistakes in this little book; e.g. Klingenthal is written as Jlingenthal and Kalbe is said to be Austrian. Kalbe was from Berlin !!! And some translations are also very bad. And when I can notice that; being not a native speaker of English.......
But it is a great looking instrument.
Robert
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Another interesting instrument that might be relevant is this Paolo Soprani "Triestina" model. Unlike most of the stepped-keyboard Paolo Sopranis of that period that are seen in the US, this one has very long button rows like the Ploners that I illustrated -- so perhaps this has a similar layout:
http://www.njuskalo.hr/harmonike/harmonika-paolo-soprani-modello-triestina-ii-oglas-10522692
Hi all,
Apologies for the thread drift, but having mentioned "Triestinka" boxes above, and then a Paolo Soprani "Triestina," here's a more recent Guerrini Triestina box that just came up for sale:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Guerrini-La-Triestina-Rossoni-Musicali-Diatonic-Button-Accordion-C-F-/331158005756
PG
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A bit about Triestine accordions here:
http://www.smrikve.com/istria/books/smrikve/istrian-music/istrian-traditional-istruments/
I will be passing through Istria in a few weeks, I may even have a chance to look this up. There is an accordion festival there in May ("Z armoniku v Roc"), mainly for this type of instrument:
http://www.smrikve.com/istria/books/smrikve/places/central-istria/roc/
http://www.istra.hr/en/attractions_and_activities/events/5226-ch-0?&ord=2&l_over=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUIuJrklNUk (you don't get a good view of the accordions, unfortunately)
A song about it (in Slovenian?):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDJD3Yyzj1g
Same song with an orchestra of Triestine accordions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hgicdDNxCk (the tune frankly sounds to me like something Mussolini might have marched on Rome to).
Croatia's answer to Sandy Brechin (not sure this is quite the same instrument, great fun anyway):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_tpOZ1N7ZI
It seems like the word "triestina" is sometimes used in Croatia to mean any button accordion, as with "melodeon" in English you need to know the speaker's background to decode it.
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A bit about Triestine accordions here:
http://www.smrikve.com/istria/books/smrikve/istrian-music/istrian-traditional-istruments/
[ . . . ]
It seems like the word "triestina" is sometimes used in Croatia to mean any button accordion, as with "melodeon" in English you need to know the speaker's background to decode it.
Hi Jack,
Many thanks for those links. I had found the first of them (listed in my second post in this thread) and agree with you that it's interesting. The others are also great to have.
One thing that may be worth noting about both the Paolo and the Guerrini "Triestina" models is that both have extremely long rows of melody buttons -- 13 in one row and 12 in the other. In my experience this is unusual for the stepped-keyboard 2-row diatonic accordions exported to the US from Italy and tuned with the rows a fourth apart. But the 13/12 keyboard is consistent with the Ploners I illustrated above. So I wonder if the Paolo and Guerrini models labeled "Triestina" might have a layout like the Ploners, which is a little unusual and includes two sets of accidental buttons per row.
I would be very interested to know any more that you find out!
Thanks again,
PG
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Thanks for reminding me of this thread Paul (in connection with my August J. Engelmann 25-key) - it helps me to understand some others that I've come across recently that are in the Trieste region.
I'm hoping to buy the rather splendid black Scandalli one, which was originally sold by Vittorio Rossoni of Trieste.
Then there's the red one labelled Triestina, and a couple of Richters with a hint of Alpine/Steirische styling to them...
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Very interesting box from the 1950s (I think) that seems to be influenced by the early Ploner diatonic boxes discussed above:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265407545704
I've dealt with the seller before, and he's honest and fair
PG